Chronological overview of the American cemetery in Margraten by Layne and Barquet (1999)
Why a cemetery in Margraten?
According to Shomon, ‘Crosses in the Wind’ (1947): The envisaged site of the cemetery of the American Ninth Army in Sittard was too close to the front and would come under German fire, so a new location needed to be found.
According to Quarter Master Corp (Layne/Barquet, page 3):
The shifting of the border between the British and American sector was the reason that the construction of the cemetery in Sittard had to be stopped and the Americans had to go in search of a new location.
1944
- At end of October 1944, a location was found close to the Rijksweg in Margraten.
- The 207th Engineer Combat Battalion was commissioned to start the preparatory work. (page 3)
- On November 7, the 172nd Engineer Combat Battalion was commissioned to construct the entry road to the envisaged cemetery. The construction started on
November 9. (pages 3 and 4)
- On November 11, the first burial took place: the body of J.B. Singer was laid to rest in plot A, row 1, grave 1.
- Between November 16 and December 14: major attack of the Ninth Army on the Ruhr and Rhine area – 1,133 soldiers were killed. From December 16 onwards: the German troops began a counter-offensive, officially called the Ardennes-Alsace campaign but more widely known as the Battle of the Bulge.
In those days the influx of dead bodies was so enormous and the weather so bad (heavy rain) that civilians were asked to help dig more graves. (page 4)
1945
- March 23, 1945: main assault on Wesel (airborne). The cemetery in Margraten could no longer cope with the large numbers of corpses. On March 25, the citizens of Margraten were called upon again to help dig graves. (page 5)
- During the advance across the Ruhr and Rhine to where they met with the Russian allies (March 25 - April 30), 1,358 GIs of the Ninth Army were killed. The Margraten cemetery was originally designated to the Ninth Army as this was the only division that did not want a cemetery on enemy territory. The deceased soldiers were transferred to Margraten. (page 5)
By early May, the cemetery counted 12,086 graves: 8,886 Americans, 200 other allied soldiers and 3,000 Germans. (page 5)
Immediately after the end of the war on 8 May 1945 (Victory in Europe Day or VE Day) Eisenhower decided to clear the temporary cemeteries in Germany and have the deceased transferred to Henri-Chapelle and Margraten. Henri-Chapelle, however, could not be extended due to its geographical position and therefore most of the deceased were brought to Margraten. (page 6)
1946
- March 30, 1946: the last body was buried at the temporary cemetery in Margraten, which had become the final resting place of 3,075 Germans, 17,742 Americans and 1,026 other allied soldiers. (page 10)
1947
Between September 1945 and April 1947, studies were carried out in the USA into the construction of permanent cemeteries as well as the possibilities for the relatives to have their loved ones repatriated to the USA.
On 22 April 1947, this resulted in the decision of the US Secretary of War to construct ten permanent cemeteries, including Margraten. This meant that 12 temporary cemeteries, including Zon and Molenhoek in the Netherlands, would be cleared. (pages 12 and 13)
It was decided that the bodies from Zon and Molenhoek would be transferred to Margraten. The total number of American soldiers that were buried came to 18,970 including the bodies from the other two temporary cemeteries. (page 15)
1948
In the summer of 1948, the Dutch government gave permission to construct a permanent cemetery in Margraten. (page 15)
On September 6, 1948, all the remains were exhumed, prepared and laid in coffins, ready for reburial or repatriation. That day the groundwork and landscaping started and the final lay-out of the plots was carried out according to an earlier plan.
On December 1, 1948, the first soldiers were given their final resting place in Margraten. (page 15)
In connection with the above, Layne/Barquet (page 22) cite a remarkable quote: ‘It can also be observed that no American was buried in a space that had been previously occupied by the enemy.’
The bodies of some 3,000 German soldiers were transferred to the ‘Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof’ in IJsselsteyn. In 1946 the Dutch government decided to centralise and bury the deceased German soldiers at one cemetery. In the end, 31,585 soldiers - of whom 6,000 could not be identified - were reburied in IJsselsteyn.
1949
Despite the bad weather conditions that winter, most of the deceased were reburied by the early spring of 1949. On December 15, 1949, the Dutch military command officially handed over the cemetery to the American Battle Monuments Commission, which was put in charge of the architectural lay-out of the cemetery. (page 19)
1960
It was only in 1960 that the cemetery became the place that it is now. On July 7 of that same year, the cemetery was officially opened.
Author: Frans Roebroeks, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (Regional Historical Centre Limburg, or RHCL).
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